Michael wants to give his friend a potted plant. At the local florist, the flowers come in 4 colors, and there are 3 types of flower pots. If he can choose any flower and any pot, how many different potted plants can Michael buy?
If Michael decided on a flower color, how many different potted plant combinations are there? He can choose one of 3 flower pots, and so there are 3 different potted plants possible (given that he already chose a flower color). Since there are 4 flower colors, there are $4 \times 3 = 12$ possible potted plants.